2002 Steel Grey 6spd coupe Daily/Restoration project

[antknee]

Wet sanding is an art. It took years of messing up the paint on my cars (including my e46) to learn some paints are thinner than others. Btw our e46s have super thin paint…. I was forced to repaint some stuff due to sanding through too much clear…..but paint meters are key…..

in the end it’s a great learning experience and rewarding at that once you get the hang of it.

[Tbonem3]

The panels in question are resprays, so plenty of clear to blow through luckily, but it's def easy to ruin factory paint! I wouldn't even bother on factory paint, just gotta live with some defects!

[Tbonem3]

More paintwork

My pass rear tail was letting water into battery area after a car wash, so I removed the light, cleaned up the area



You can see the gasket split. It's actually split and connected (glued) during manufacturing. So I just superglued the split back together.



Decided to remove the license plate, emblem and roundel in reparation for correcting the boot's paint.



This car's nickname: "Dusty"

Cleaning/dressing the plate holder; it's in good shape. The hardware (looked like kitchen cabinet hardware from chyna lol) was trash. Once screw was so long, it bit into the paint behind it doh.



I also used the 303 wipe on the plastic on the underside of trunk handle



Clay bar



Like the front bumper, I'm only doing a 1 step with the medium correcting cream since the vertical surfaces don't need much cleaning up. I'm using the orange CSS pad which is meant for more cut, though it finishes okay enough IMO. I'll be coming around again 3-6 months later and doing a finer polish, a maintenance polish you could call it (annually or semi-annual)




Got new emblem/roundel from FCP:



I measured, but also had a little "evidence" left behind of where the old emblem was, so I was able to put it exactly where it should be. Curiously, the "3" is just a hair shorter than the "///M", so you can't line them up perfectly. You could put the bottom on the same plane, but I chose (believing it was like this originally) to center the 3 to the M, as in, put their midpoints on the same horizon. in this pic, it looks like the "3" is too high, but it's not actually.



Here's the taillight gasket glued back together:



Back in:



Plate holder, refreshed, back on: Look at those exh tips lol



Finally got the car tagged and opted to get brand new, random plates. I really don't like the retro black plates. Even on a black car, but certainly not on metallic grey - just made the car look old/dumpy (the car also did look dumpy when I bought it, so perhaps that's at play in my mind). Notice the factory plate screws @ $1 each lol



Worked on the fenders as well, same 1 step process with the BOSS correcting cream and an orange pad:




I love our metallic paints so much. And if you look closely, I really don't have many rock chips. Bad luck that the bumpers and pass QP are resprays, but at least the rest is factory and is in pretty good shape (besides those damn tree sap etchings)



Beautiful paint



Did the mirrors too cause it's easy. Still have doors/QPs and rear bumper left.



And lastly, since we haven't seen the car much, here's a decent shot. Still not where I want it, but so much better

[skristedja]

Looking really good, love the paint correction work. Steel grey is a very rewarding color to correct IMO. Looks kinda bland and regular when dull but has a very dynamic depth in good condition. My favorite is in the full California sun when its all clean--it has a nice creamy silver tone in the highlights and a deep almost bluish grey in the shadows. Only reason it doesn't get as much love is because BMW took that and made it even better with the silver grey.

[jet_dogg]

Much better, good progress man.

Are you checking the paint with a scangrip or playing by eye?

[K-Dawg]

This car has come a long way. It feels good to save a car from neglect.

Is it just the pics that make it look like the sap is on top of the paint and not etched?

[Tbonem3]

Looking really good, love the paint correction work. Steel grey is a very rewarding color to correct IMO. Looks kinda bland and regular when dull but has a very dynamic depth in good condition. My favorite is in the full California sun when its all clean--it has a nice creamy silver tone in the highlights and a deep almost bluish grey in the shadows. Only reason it doesn't get as much love is because BMW took that and made it even better with the silver grey.

Thanks, agreed! IMO, it's a little dark, so in the sun it looks great, but in the shade it looks a bit muddy or dull. Silvergrey is so light, it doesn't really suffer from that, though it can be a little too bright in the sun whereas steel is perfect.

Much better, good progress man.

Are you checking the paint with a scangrip or playing by eye?

Thank you. Are you talking about looking for defects or how much clear is left? I have fluoro shop lights in my garage so I can see everything.

This car has come a long way. It feels good to save a car from neglect.

Is it just the pics that make it look like the sap is on top of the paint and not etched?

Thank you, it sure does. I also want to remind ppl, I'm behind in updating the thread. All of this content so far happened in only 2 months. I have at least this much more to dump before catching up to present day.

No, they look like that in real life too, very frustrating. Spoiler alert* I'm skipping ahead, but I already wetsanded various parts of the car, almost completely the resprayed parts, but I did have a light go (2k) at the sap spots on the factory hood, and it made no difference. They're permanent It's the greatest eyesore on the car, moreso than the little dents in the upper pillars (that can't come out via PDR). There are also some bird shit etchings mixed in with the sap spots, and a few heavy RIDS. It's by far the worst panel.

[Tbonem3]

New seals! Already did the passenger door when I took out the glass for the regulator, but here are the other 3:






While the trims were off, I polished the paint where the edge of the rubber would sit. I'll still polish the doors and qp later, but wanted to get the top flat surfaces done now







.

[enjoy_m3]

this thread makes me want to restore weatherstripping lol.

[Tbonem3]

Fuel filter time



Did you think there wouldn't be dirt in this cover? The new filter is pictured - Kayser is the OES part for BMW, not the commonly available Mahle. The Kayser doesn't require an extra copper crush washer like the Mahle does (same size as oil plug I believe).




Hey look, a Mahle, so at least I know it was changed at some point. See the copper washer?



I start by undoing the front connection as the rear connection is free to spin, allowing you to unthread the filter from the block. Then I use needle nose pliers to wedge between the quick disconnect plastic and the filter body to pop it off. I lay a towel down to catch the fuel that will come out. In my experience, it doesn't really help to pull the fuse and let the car die to use up the fuel, fuel will still pour out the filter anyway. Besides that, you can undo pressure at the schrader valve at the regulator, but when I did it, no pressure was released anyway.



New vs old, cleaned up the cover.



Install reverse of removal. I custom made a set of thin wrenches out of some cheap standard open end wrenches. You wouldn't be able to fit a standard wrench in here

-

I previously documented the regulator swap on the passenger door, but on the driver door, while the window worked fine, the door would not drop the window to exit or raise it to seal. Nor would the center lock button open or lock the door.



Got the panel off, of course the driver vapor barrier is torn as well lol. The deep scratches from getting the panel off are not from me



Found a nice looking actuator on ebay, also from a 2002, with fairly low mileage. Unfortunately, seller didn't disclose that the lock push pin's (don't know what to call it) clip was broken, but I was able to swap my original over.



You can see my previous attempt to remove the tint was frustratingly futile.



Sprayed it with windex, and let it sit out in the hot sun for a while. Then it came off easily.



I found that it's possible to remove/install the actuator without removing the regulator is you just loosen the back 2 nuts and move it out of the way a bit.



New one in. A little tricky getting everything connecting in there.



Ahhh, clean glass! Now both doors' glass is clear with the rear quarters and rear glass still to do.

Window and lock work properly now, though I did have to play with the adjustment of the window so check that (E6? socket, not large) before you put the panel back on. Outer trim piece was also replaced as you can see in a post above.

[Tbonem3]

Got these codes that might make you think cam sensors, but they're actually indicators of a faulty vanos solenoid



Got a refurbished solenoid and plate seals from Besian, as well as magnets to open the valves to clean the block
Completely forgot to get the chain tensioner guide



As expected



My crude fan tool



So dirty



Look at the oil seepage on the vanos sealing plate - ya they're donzo



Coolant's spraying out of the exp line. Gonna do cooling soon anyway



As Raj says, loosen the pressure actuator before removing block



I needed a little help cracking it loose



Flat as my 1st girlfriend



Cut 'em out.



Separate solenoid and block (tiny e-torx). Seeing the "VANOS" written is pretty cool



Use a strong magnet to open them, and spray brake cleaner through the orifices. O-rings removed from actuator (in background)



Lubed new o-rings supplied with solenoid, and rolled onto actuator. Spray out the filter. I replaced it on my other car, but there's no need if it's in good shape with no chunks of metal



Lubed and installed o-ring. They don't fit too well. You just have to center them as best you can. They'll get squished fine if you tighten the e-torx bolts evenly.



Decided to clean the vanos unit with my go-to red pad and wd-40. I polished it on my other car, but wanted a different look befitting a car that isn't as special/modded. This results in a brushed look more or less.



Solenoid and block back on, connector zip tied



Did the oil filter housing cap and hook as well





Alright, time for valve adjustment. Cover ready to be removed - moment of truth - is my hub fuxd?



Okay okay this is a good sign! Super clean, low varnish for a 2002 w/ 124k. Feeling good here...



Everything looks great. Cam lobes are smooth, no spit shims (would have heard it tbh), plastic gulley guards are present and not cracked.



Here we go. First tab that's visible



Yes! And I'm not seeing ANY evidence of hammering

Numero dos



Fuck ya. Still no evidence of any hammering whatsoever I'm not even exaggerating. I've done my own car and plenty of others' cars and I've never seen it this perfect.

Almost every valve needed a thicker shim. Think it was every exhaust valve and 9/12 intakes. I used so many 2.28s, 2.32s and 2.36s, I had to stop and go to the dealer who luckily still had their box of shims. I was worried when the parts manager said they hadn't adjusted an S54 in a long time. I was able to reuse some old shims, but they were all like 2.16-2.20.



All done



No, I didn't bother with the undoing timing and the cam bolts. IMO/experience, it's the 05s/06s that really had those issues. I also was trained to not fuck with something that's performing beautifully. My 2004 has 180k with original bolts as well, just a besian disc. I believe the vanos stuff is over blown. I believe rod bearings are more like a 150k item, not 100k (many more 200k+ cars on original bearings than 50-100k cars that spun one - also look at the showcase thread where most had more life to go). RACP tears are the only thing I think are a very widespread, almost inevitable issue, but that's a slow moving problem.

[jet_dogg]

Yasssssss.

Most entertaining thread on this forum right now. I lol'd at the of course dirt under the air duct. Feelsgudman to clean that shit.

[PipeUy]

Looking really good wish my engine looked that clean haha, my 02 had all bolts tight and zero hammering too. I still did the disc and updated bolts for sake of mind since I was doing everything else, the chain guide is for sure broken though.

[Tbonem3]

Upgrading the taillights really wasn't on my mind. I even thought I'd keep the car period correct with the pre-facelift, original parts, but, one day, I pulled up behind my friend's '05 CB and the LEDs just looked so damn good. Yes, my 2004 has LEDs, but with the CSL parts, the whole rear end looked different. My friend's '05 is bone stock, so almost exactly like the steelgrey, and it just struck me so.

Didn't look for very long and happened upon an original set from a 2006 325ci on ebay for cheap. The outer tails' grey inner clips and backings (interior light portions) were not included, but I didn't care (don't even use them in my 2004 car). The LEDS all worked and the condition was very nice, so I just bought 'em. Didn't do any research, and got lucky that my LCM (02/02) is new enough to simply flash (think it's after 09/01?). Bought the OE harnesses for $30.

There had been some water getting behind my originals, turns out the foam gasket had split - easy enough to glue back together. Good time to clean the body.



After install, I polished them with an aggressive pad, but mild polish. Love 'em!




Still haven't coded them to get rid of the dash lights - I'm a lazy kunt when it comes to DIY work I don't enjoy.

Das grau boyz together



The car still felt pretty lumpy engine-wise. I've done the plugs and coils, I've run a couple tanks of gas through, fuel filter, air filter, new MAF. The Vanos solenoid made a nice difference, but something was still missing. I knew I wanted to do pre-cat O2s, and how important they are, but I wanted to time that with a header job (more on that later ).

There was no CEL and no codes (well, one for something stupid, but nothing important to the engine), so I pulled the adaptations to see what's going on.

WTF is this? 5s across the board???



Hmm strange. I didn't think I needed to do the cam sensors, and certainly not the crank or knocks. The only other things I could think of were TPS & fuel injectors. Didn't really think injectors would be too bad at 124k (I did them at 160k on silvergrey iirc), and I could swear I could still hear them ticking away a little (new injectors are very loud). So, I looked into the TPS for the actuator and the front of the throttle rail. Checked FCPeuro, and they do a great job of carrying the OES - the supplier's version of the original part.



Sure enough, these are genuine TPS, with the brand and BMW logo ground off. Save your $!

Gained access, also cleaned out the CCV/Idle control valve. TBs look great. Its funny how dirty and neglected the car is, yet it's a wonderfully original, clean car underneath!



Installed both TPS, and lubed the actuator/TBs' springs and rail (Tri-flow ptfe)

First startup, it already had a smoother idle with not much dipping at all - not sure if that was the ICV cleaning or the TPS though.



Alright alright. MUCH better, the car feel smoother and more responsive! Ignition #s is what I was paying more attention to, but very interesting that the vanos #s went to 0 from -4.5/-1.7. I'm hoping new pre-cat O2s make ignition timing perfect!

[KhanArt]

Haven't been on here forever but been following you on IG and love the restoration.

Sent from my SM-G965U1 using Tapatalk